Please help!

[vernandang]

I noticed one of my easter eggers losing feathers well now its all three EEs. Their coup, nest and run are all treated heavily with DE, have been since the beginning. When I noticed I treated them directly with it but nothing has gotten better. What can I do? What is it? Please help!

 

[BarnyardChaos]

It appears to me she's molting, and it's normal. All of them probably are, as are everyone's chickens who live in the Northern Hemisphere. When daylight grows shorter, it triggers hormones that cause chickens to lose their feathers. Some all at once, some a little at a time. New feathers grow in, so that they have a nice new fluffy coat before winter. I could make a feather bed with all the fluff currently blowing around in my coop, run and yard. You should check out the current contests on BYC, there's one for best pic for molting chickens. It's an eye-opener if you've never seen a chicken molt before!

Handle them gently, as their skin is pretty sensitive right now.

 

[StinkyAcres]

How old are your EEs?

 

[vernandang]

How old are your EEs?

Almost 8 months

 

[vernandang]

It appears to me she's molting, and it's normal. All of them probably are, as are everyone's chickens who live in the Northern Hemisphere. When daylight grows shorter, it triggers hormones that cause chickens to lose their feathers. Some all at once, some a little at a time. New feathers grow in, so that they have a nice new fluffy coat before winter. I could make a feather bed with all the fluff currently blowing around in my coop, run and yard. You should check out the current contests on BYC, there's one for best pic for molting chickens. It's an eye-opener if you've never seen a chicken molt before!

Handle them gently, as their skin is pretty sensitive right now.

Is there bleeding when they molt?

 

[BarnyardChaos]

Is there bleeding when they molt?

No, there is not usually. I blindly did not see it (obvious) in your photo. Also, they don't typically molt at 8 months of age, either - though I didn't know their age before making my post. My apologies.
How many hens and roosters do you have? Have you noticed any aggression or mating behavior (even hen-on-hen)? Something has to be breaking those feather shafts for them to bleed.

 

[vernandang]

No, there is not usually. I blindly did not see it (obvious) in your photo. Also, they don't typically molt at 8 months of age, either - though I didn't know their age before making my post. My apologies.
How many hens and roosters do you have? Have you noticed any aggression or mating behavior (even hen-on-hen)? Something has to be breaking those feather shafts for them to bleed.

I have 12 hens and no roosters. I haven't seen any bullying and the EEs are the only ones this is happening to.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

@azygous @Wyorp Rock any ideas why this would be happening, in the absence of pecking?

 

[azygous]

First of all, drenching everything in DE is no guarantee against parasites. It's still possible for chickens to have external parasites in spite of DE.

The age of your chickens precludes fall molt, if you are in the northern hemisphere, and please include your location in your profile so we aren't all forced to keep guessing. It could be juvenile molt since it appears some new blood feathers are involved.

Most likely, you do have a feather picker. The only way to find out is to set up a comfortable observation seat and watch their interaction some lazy afternoon. Chances are you will see who is shaving the neck feathers.

Unfortunately, curtailing feather picking behavior is very difficult. The only method I've found that helps is pinless peepers on the picker.

 

[vernandang]

First of all, drenching everything in DE is no guarantee against parasites. It's still possible for chickens to have external parasites in spite of DE.

The age of your chickens precludes fall molt, if you are in the northern hemisphere, and please include your location in your profile so we aren't all forced to keep guessing. It could be juvenile molt since it appears some new blood feathers are involved.

Most likely, you do have a feather picker. The only way to find out is to set up a comfortable observation seat and watch their interaction some lazy afternoon. Chances are you will see who is shaving the neck feathers.

Unfortunately, curtailing feather picking behavior is very difficult. The only method I've found that helps is pinless peepers on the picker.

I am in North Carolina. It still in the 60s-70s around here. We looked at the 3 today and it looks like some new feathers are coming in. Should we treat for parasites just in case?